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Oh, don’t look so surprised. You knew sensei Seagal would come out with another DTV action flick, and you also may have guessed that I would be first in line to rent and watch it. I am a die-hard action film junkie, after all. I also await the day when Sensei would get his stuff together and make a decent action film without the usual crooked CIA and NSA agents, without his’s character having been ‘a company man’ and some fairly decent action and an attempt at some sort of story. Sadly in “Shadow Man”, it is the same old story, and thus I have to wait a little longer.
There is two, no three things I did like about this effort. One, there was a nicely done tussle in a dope dealer’s place. Seagal beats the stuff out of some jokers and tables get smashed. It doesn’t have anything really to do with the muddled plot, but it’s the Seagal I like to see- no speeded up or slow mo footage, just plain old fashioned bone breaking. There should have been more of that, and less of a irritating poorly executed and overextended car chase. I even hit the fast forward button on that opening sightseeing drive. Darn thing. Yet it seems for every one positive thing, there’s a hundred negative things. The bad dialog is actually funny in some bits- my favorite line is “Take me to a place where there’s lots of drugs and women”. and helmer Michael Keusch gets the most bang out of Bucharest. The explosions effects are horrid. The digital camera work is shabby. Seagal needs a stunt double for walking to a car. Seagal can take out a heliocopter and its occupants with a pop gun. Seagal gets dubbed …again.
Why are these bad guys after Sensei, you ask? Well, he’s got this microchip planted on him which contains information on a lethal virus that appears to have been homegrown in Resident Evil looking labortories. Someone kidnaps his young daughter. The Russian mob is involved. Crooked Bucharest cops are in on it. A Taxi Driver. Oh, and how can we forget our good ol’ crooked CIA Black Ops guys. Seagal’s Jack Foster used to be one of them, after all. All that in ten minutes. Then it’s a badly filmed car chase. Body count is high, which for a Seagal flick, isn’t really a bad thing…if the movie made any sense at all.
Well, you asked.
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Shadow Man
Directed By Michael Keusch
Starring Steven Seagal, Eva Pope and Vincent Riotta
Also of interest on CoP:
Black Dawn
Mercenary For Justice
Today You Die
Darren Seeley (184 posts)Fave directors include David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Michael Mann, Anique Faqua, Walter Hill, John Carpenter, John Woo and James Cameron. An aspiring screenwriter, I wrote several spec scripts (platform: Final Draft) that I occasionally submit to contests, Inktip, and workshop through peer review sites like Triggerstreet and Zoetrope. I have attended The Austin Film Festival and Heart Of Screenwriters Conference in 2001 and 2002. CoP marks my third go around as an internet film reviewer of sorts. My previous film hub haunts were 'Dark Universe' and, most notably, 'The Projector Booth'. Location: MI,USA.
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I commend you on sitting through another DTV release. Question: What’s the good/bad ratio when viewing these things? Is it 1 good for every 10 bad?
I’m just curious because I can’t remember the last time I sat through a DTV.
Comment by Jose — Thu June 15, 2006 @ 5:22How I rate DTV films?
I look at thee following criteria:
*How good is production value/get good locations and/or make good use of them
*If it is sci-fi/horror, how well are the FX pulled off? If action, how good are the explosion/fire FX if any?
*Does anyone try to act?
*On a low budget scale, is the action alright? There have been many DTV action films that had low budget, but decent action (Sniper sequels and Wake Of Death, for example). Bottom line is that through pace and smart filming, it isn’t boring. If you make a low budget action film, you have naked women, dumb jokes and other exploitation if you must, but don’t make it boring. Usually when an action film is boring, the filmmakers will throw in a few strippers. Guaranteed.
*How does it rate with other DTV director or star has done? Is there improvement? After “Mercenary For Justice” this is a step down for Seagal.
*Is the story good/does it make sense?
*Is there any ambition to make the film stand out? How far can they stretch the dollar?
Comment by Darren Seeley — Thu June 15, 2006 @ 16:29